At least one airport requests donations to agents of the Transportation Security Administration from travelers, as the partial shutdown of the federal government of the United States means that they are currently working without pay until that aforementioned shutdown ends.
Airport Requests Donations to Transportation Security Administration Agents
The following message appeared at the official X site of Denver International Airport:
! DONATIONS NEEDED ! Support the dedicated TSA employees working without pay by donating $10 and $20 grocery store and gas gift cards. Visa gift cards cannot be accepted.
Drop off locations can be found at Final Approach cell phone lot and in the Jeppesen Terminal.
The responses have not exactly been kind — and that is being conservative.
Ask the airlines not the passengers.
— Omninet, Inc. (@OmninetHouston) March 12, 2026
Apparently — with few exceptions — no love is lost on the Transportation Security Administration.
Airlines are Getting Involved — Somewhat
Meanwhile, the chief executive officers of nine airlines in the United States joined Christopher T. Sununu — who is the current chief executive officer and president of Airlines for America, which is a trade group that represents the commercial aviation industry in the United States — in signing an open letter to members of the House of Representatives of the United States to reach an agreement to fund the Department of Homeland Security.
“Then they need to act so this problem never happens again. Specifically, Congress should pass the Aviation Funding Solvency Act and the Aviation Funding Stability Act, which would guarantee air traffic controllers are paid regardless of the government’s funding status, as well as the Keep America Flying Act, which would provide the same protections to TSA officers who are tasked every day with keeping Americans secure in the skies”, according to the aforementioned open letter. “TSA officers just received $0 paychecks. That is simply unacceptable. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to put food on the table, put gas in the car and pay rent when you are not getting paid.”
Final Boarding Call
The agents of the Transportation Security Administration are currently not being paid while they are expected to do their jobs — but they will eventually be paid in full. The problem is that their mortgages, rent, utilities, grocery bills, insurance, and other expenses still need to be paid while they are not collecting their salaries…
…but every passenger already pays — and continues to pay — for security via taxes with every airline ticket he or she purchases. Travelers already continuously get hit with taxes, increased rates and fares, and other ways that every entity imaginable tries to extract that extra dollar — and the return on investment seems to be lessening every day. Why should passengers donate their hard-earned money on gift cards when they already are forced to contribute donations in the form of taxes?
Donating gift cards to agents of the Transportation Security Administration is a personal decision. If someone wants to do that out of the goodness of his or her heart, more power to that person. I will not be one of the donors, as there are other people and causes who need donations much more than they do.
I have an idea: what about forcing the politicians who keep causing ridiculous and unnecessary chaos donate their compensation out of their own pockets to agents of the Transportation Security Administration? Perhaps that will lead to the end of the partial shutdown of the federal government of the United States sooner than later.
Why an airport is so “concerned” about the financial situation of agents of the Transportation Security Administration is beyond my understanding — but if officials of an airport really do care, I am sure that they can find money in their budgets to help them…
Photograph ©2020 by Brian Cohen.
